The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts Read online

  54 He hurried and sent off his son Beor, who was seventeen years old, with Abichorof the son of Uz, the son of Nahor, and with them were ten men.

  55 They hurried and went and passed on the road before Jacob, and they came by another road to the land of Seir.

  56 They came to Esau and said to him, Thus says your brother and relative, your mother's brother Laban, the son of Bethuel, saying,

  57 Have you heard what Jacob your brother has done to me, who first came to me naked and gave birth to? I went to meet him and brought him to my house with honor; I made him great, and I gave him my two daughters for wives and also two of my maids.

  58 And God blessed him on my account; he increased abundantly, and had sons, daughters and maid servants.

  59 He has also an immense stock of flocks and herds, camels and asses, also silver and gold in abundance; when he saw that his wealth increased, he left me while I went to shear my sheep, and he rose up and fled in secrecy.

  60 He lifted his wives and children on camels, and he led away all his cattle and property which he acquired in my land, and he lifted up his countenance to go to his father Isaac, to the land of Canaan.

  61 He did not let me kiss my daughters and their children; he led my daughters as captives taken by the sword, and he also stole my gods and he fled.

  62 And now I have left him in the mountain of the brook of Jabuk, him and all belonging to him; he lacks nothing.

  63 If it be your wish to go to him, go then and there you will find him, and you can do to him as your soul desires; and Laban's messengers came and told Esau all these things.

  64 Esau heard all the words of Laban's messengers, and his anger was greatly set ablaze against Jacob, and he remembered his hatred, and his anger burned within him.

  65 Esau hurried and took his children and servants and the souls of his household, being sixty men; he went and assembled all the children of Seir the Horite and their people, being three hundred and forty men. He took all this number of four hundred men with drawn swords, and he went to Jacob to strike him.

  66 Esau divided this number into several parts, and he took the sixty men of his children and servants and the souls of his household as one head, and gave them in care of Eliphaz his eldest son.

  67 The remaining heads he gave to the care of the six sons of Seir the Horite, and he placed every man over his generations and children.

  68 The whole of this camp went as it was, and Esau went among them toward Jacob, and he conducted them with speed.

  69 And Laban's messengers departed from Esau and went to the land of Canaan, and they came to the house of Rebecca the mother of Jacob and Esau.

  70 They told her saying, Behold your son Esau has gone against his brother Jacob with four hundred men, for he heard that he was coming, and he is gone to make war with him, and to strike him and to take all that he has.

  71 Rebecca hurried and sent seventy two men from the servants of Isaac to meet Jacob on the road; for she said, Perhaps Esau may make war in the road when he meets him.

  72 These messengers went on the road to meet Jacob, and they met him in the road of the brook on the opposite side of the brook Jabuk. Jacob said when he saw them, This camp is destined to me from God. And Jacob called the name of that place Machnayim.

  73 And Jacob knew all his father's people, and he kissed them and embraced them and came with them. Jacob asked them concerning his father and mother, and they said, They were well.

  74 These messengers said to Jacob, Rebecca your mother has sent us to you, saying, I have heard, my son, that your brother Esau has gone forth against you on the road with men from the children of Seir the Horite.

  75 Therefore, my son, listen to my voice and see with your counsel what you will do; when he comes up to you, supplicate him, and do not speak rashly to him, and give him a present from what you possess, and from what God has favored you with.

  76 And when he asks you concerning your affairs, conceal nothing from him, perhaps he may turn from his anger against you and you will thereby save your soul, you and all belonging to you, for it is your duty to honor him, for he is your elder brother.

  77 When Jacob heard the words of his mother which the messengers had spoken to him, Jacob lifted up his voice and wept bitterly, and did as his mother then commanded him.

  CHAPTER 32

  1 At that time Jacob sent messengers to his brother Esau toward the land of Seir, and he spoke to him words of supplication.

  2 He commanded them, saying, Thus shall you say to my lord, to Esau, Thus says your servant Jacob, Let not my lord imagine that my father's blessing with which he did bless me has proved beneficial to me.

  3 For I have been these twenty years with Laban, and he deceived me and changed my wages ten times, as it has all been already told to my lord.

  4 And I served him in his house very laboriously, and God afterward saw my affliction, my labor and the work of my hands, and he caused me to find grace and favor in his sight.

  5 And afterward through God's great mercy and kindness I acquired oxen and asses and cattle, and men servants and maid servants.

  6 And now I am coming to my land and my home to my father and mother, who are in the land of Canaan; I have sent to let my lord know all this in order to find favor in the sight of my lord, so that he may not imagine that I have of myself obtained wealth, or that the blessing with which my father blessed me has benefited me.

  7 Those messengers went to Esau, and found him on the borders of the land of Edom going toward Jacob, and four hundred men of the children of Seir the Horite were standing with drawn swords.

  8 And the messengers of Jacob told Esau all the words that Jacob had spoken to them concerning Esau.

  9 Esau answered them with pride and contempt and said to them, Certainly I have heard and truly it has been told to me what Jacob has done to Laban, who exalted him in his house and gave him his daughters for wives, and he had sons and daughters, and abundantly increased in wealth and riches in Laban's house through his means.

  10 When he saw that his wealth was abundant and his riches great he fled with all belonging to him, from Laban's house, and he led Laban's daughters away from the face of their father, as captives taken by the sword without telling him of it.

  11 And not only to Laban has Jacob done thus but also to me has he done so and has twice supplanted me, and shall I be silent?

  12 Now therefore I have this day come with my camps to meet him, and I will do to him according to the desire of my heart.

  13 And the messengers returned and came to Jacob and said to him, We came to your brother, to Esau, and we told him all your words, and thus has he answered us; behold he comes to meet you with four hundred men.

  14 Now then know and see what you shall do, and pray before God to deliver you from him.

  15 And when he heard the words of his brother which he had spoken to the messengers of Jacob, Jacob was greatly afraid and he was distressed.

  16 And Jacob prayed to the Lord his God, and he said, O Lord God of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, you did say to me when I went away from my father's house, saying,

  17 I am the Lord God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac, to you do I give this land and your descendants after you, and I will make your descendants as the stars of heaven, and you shall spread forth to the four sides of heaven, and in you and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

  18 You did establish your words, and did give to me riches and children and cattle, as the utmost wishes of my heart did you give to your servant; you gave to me all that I asked from you, so that I lacked nothing.

  19 Afterward you said to me, Return to your parents and to your birth place and I will still do well with you.

  20 And now that I have come, and you did deliver me from Laban, I shall fall in the hands of Esau who will kill me, yea, together with the mothers of my children.

  21 Now therefore, O Lord God, deliver me, I pray you, also from the hands of my brot
her Esau, for I am greatly afraid of him.

  22 And if there is no righteousness in me, do it for the sake of Abraham and my father Isaac.

  23 For I know that through kindness and mercy I have acquired this wealth; now therefore I beseech you to deliver me this day with your kindness and to answer me.

  24 And Jacob ceased praying to the Lord; he divided the people that were with him with the flocks and cattle into two camps, and he gave the half to the care of Damesek, the son of Eliezer, Abraham's servant, for a camp, with his children; the other half he gave to the care of his brother Elianus the son of Eliezer, to be for a camp with his children.

  25 And he commanded them, saying, Keep yourselves at a distance with your camps, and do not come too near each other, and if Esau comes to one camp and kills it, the other camp at a distance from it will escape him.

  26 Jacob tarried there that night, and during the whole night he gave his servants instructions concerning the forces and his children.

  27 The Lord heard the prayer of Jacob on that day, and the Lord then delivered Jacob from the hands of his brother Esau.

  28 The Lord sent three angels of the angels of heaven, and they went before Esau and came to him.

  29 And these angels appeared to Esau and his people as two thousand men, riding on horses furnished with all sorts of war instruments, and they appeared in the sight of Esau and all his men to be divided into four camps, with four chiefs to them.

  30 And one camp went on and they found Esau coming with four hundred men toward his brother Jacob, and this camp ran toward Esau and his people and terrified them. Esau fell off the horse in alarm, and all his men separated from him in that place, for they were greatly afraid.

  31 And the whole camp shouted after them when they fled from Esau, and all the warlike men answered, saying,

  32 Certainly we are the servants of Jacob, who is the servant of God, and who then can stand against us? And Esau said to them, O then, my lord and brother Jacob is your lord, whom I have not seen for these twenty years, and now that I have this day come to see him, do you treat me in this manner?

  33 And the angels answered him saying, As the Lord lives, were not Jacob of whom you speak your brother, we would not let one remain from you and your people, but only on account of Jacob we will do nothing to them.

  34 And this camp passed from Esau and his men and it went away, and Esau and his men had gone from them about a league when the second camp came toward him with all sorts of weapons, and they also did to Esau and his men as the first camp had done to them.

  35 And when they had left it to go on, behold the third camp came toward him and they were all terrified, and Esau fell off the horse, and the whole camp cried out, and said, Certainly we are the servants of Jacob, who is the servant of God, and who can stand against us?

  36 Esau again answered them saying, O then, Jacob my lord and your lord is my brother, and for twenty years I have not seen his countenance and hearing this day that he was coming, I went this day to meet him, and do you treat me in this manner?

  37 They answered him, and said to him, As the Lord lives, were not Jacob your brother as you did say, we would not leave a remnant from you and your men, but on account of Jacob of whom you speak being your brother, we will not meddle with you or your men.

  38 And the third camp also passed from them, and he still continued his road with his men toward Jacob, when the fourth camp came toward him, and they also did to him and his men as the others had done.

  39 When Esau beheld the evil which the four angels had done to him and to his men, he became greatly afraid of his brother Jacob, and he went to meet him in peace.

  40 And Esau concealed his hatred against Jacob, because he was afraid for his life on account of his brother Jacob, and because he imagined that the four camps that he had lighted on were Jacob's servants.

  41 And Jacob tarried that night with his servants in their camps, and he resolved with his servants to give to Esau a present from all that he had with him, and from all his property; Jacob rose up in the morning, he and his men, and they chose from among the cattle a present for Esau.

  42 And this is the amount of the present which Jacob chose from his flock to give to his brother Esau: he selected two hundred and forty head from the flocks, and he selected from the camels and asses thirty each, and of the herds he chose fifty kine.

  43 He put them all in ten droves, and he placed each sort by itself; he delivered them into the hands of ten of his servants, each drove by itself.

  44 He commanded them, and said to them, Keep yourselves at a distance from each other, and put a space between the droves, and when Esau and those who are with him shall meet you and ask you, saying, Whose are you, and where do you go, and to whom belongs all this before you, you shall say to them, We are the servants of Jacob, and we come to meet Esau in peace, and behold Jacob comes behind us.

  45 And that which is before us is a present sent from Jacob to his brother Esau.

  46 And if they shall say to you, Why does he delay behind you, from coming to meet his brother and to see his face, then you shall say to them, Certainly he comes joyfully behind us to meet his brother, for he said, I will appease him with the present that goes to him, and after this I will see his face; per chance he will accept me.

  47 So the whole present passed on in the hands of his servants, and went before him on that day, and he lodged that night with his camps by the border of the brook of Jabuk. He rose up in the middle of the night and took his wives and his maid servants and all belonging to him, and that night he passed them over the ford Jabuk.

  48 When he passed all belonging to him over the brook, Jacob was left by himself; a man met him, and he wrestled with him that night until the breaking of the day, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint through wrestling with him.

  49 At the break of day the man left Jacob there, and he blessed him and went away; Jacob passed the brook at the break of day, and he rested on his thigh.

  50 And the sun rose on him when he had passed the brook, and he came up to the place of his cattle and children.

  51 They went on till midday, and while they were going the present was passing on before them.

  52 And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold Esau was at a distance, coming along with many men, about four hundred, and Jacob was greatly afraid of his brother.

  53 Jacob hurried and divided his children to his wives and his handmaids, and his daughter Dinah he put in a chest, and delivered her into the hands of his servants.

  54 He passed before his children and wives to meet his brother, and he bowed down to the ground, yes, he bowed down seven times until he approached his brother. And God caused Jacob to find grace and favor in the sight of Esau and his men, for God had heard the prayer of Jacob.

  55 The fear of Jacob and his terror fell on his brother Esau, for Esau was greatly afraid of Jacob for what the angels of God had done to Esau, and Esau's anger against Jacob was turned into kindness.

  56 And when Esau saw Jacob running toward him, he also ran toward him and he embraced him, and he fell on his neck, and they kissed and they wept.

  57 And God put fear and kindness toward Jacob in the hearts of the men that came with Esau, and they also kissed Jacob and embraced him.

  58 Also Eliphaz, the son of Esau, with his four brothers, sons of Esau, wept with Jacob, and they kissed him and embraced him, for the fear of Jacob had fallen on them all.

  59 And Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women with their children, the children of Jacob, walking behind Jacob and bowing along the road to Esau.

  60 And Esau said to Jacob, Who are these with you, my brother? Are they your children or your servants? And Jacob answered Esau and said, They are my children which God hath graciously given to your servant.

  61 While Jacob was speaking to Esau and his men, Esau beheld the whole camp, and he said to Jacob, How did you get the whole camp that I met last night? And Jacob said, To find favor in the sig
ht of my lord, it is that which God graciously gave to your servant.

  62 The present came before Esau, and Jacob pressed Esau, saying, Take I pray you the present that I have brought to my lord. And Esau said, Why should I? Keep that which you have to yourself.

  63 And Jacob said, It is incumbent on me to give all this, since I have seen your face, that you still live in peace.

  64 Esau refused to take the present, and Jacob said to him, I beseech you my lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, then receive my present at my hand, for I have therefore seen your face, as you I had seen a god-like face, because you were pleased with me.

  65 And Esau took the present, and Jacob also gave to Esau silver and gold and bdellium, for he pressed him so much that he took them.

  66 Esau divided the cattle that were in the camp, and he gave half to the men who had come with him, for they had come on hire, and the other half he delivered to the hands of his children.

  67 The silver and gold and bdellium he gave in the hands of Eliphaz his eldest son, and Esau said to Jacob, Let us remain with you, and we will go slowly along with you until you come to my place with me, that we may dwell there together.

  68 And Jacob answered his brother and said, I would do as my lord speaks to me, but my lord knows that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with their young who are with me go but slowly, for if they went swiftly they would all die, for you know their burdens and their fatigue.

  69 Therefore let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will go on slowly for the sake of the children and the flock until I come to my lord's place to Seir.

  70 And Esau said to Jacob, I will place with you some of the people that are with me to take care of you in the road, and to bear your fatigue and burden, and he said, I will do so, my lord, if I may find grace in your sight?

  71 Behold I will come to you to Seir to dwell there together as you have spoken, go then with your people for I will follow you.

  72 Jacob said this to Esau in order to remove Esau and his men from him, so that Jacob might afterward go to his father's house to the land of Canaan.